Plants yielding fibers have been second only to food plants in their
usefulness to humans and their influence on the furthering of
civilization.Primitive humans in
their attempts to obtain the three most important necessities for life:food, shelter & clothing, focused on
plants.Even though animal products
were available, some form of clothing was needed that was lighter and cooler
than skins and hides.It was easier
to obtain from plants such items as bowstrings, nets, snares, etc.Also plant products were available from
the leaves, stems and roots of many plants to construct shelter.

Very early on plant fibers have had a more extensive use than silk,
wool and other animal fibers.Gradually as humans’ needs multiplied, the use of vegetable fibers increased
greatly until presently they continue to be of great importance even after
the onset of plastics.It is
impossible to estimate the number of species of fiber plants, but over a
thousand species of plants have yielded fibers in America alone, and over 800
occur in the Philippines.However,
plant fibers of commercial importance ore relatively few, the greater number
being native species used locally by primitive peoples in all parts of the
world.Their durability often exceeds
those of synthetic manufacture, one example being sisal & Manila hemps.

The most prominent fibers of the present are of great antiquity.The cultivation of flax, for example,
dates back to the Stone Age of Europe, as discovered in the remains of the
Swiss Lake Dwellers.Linen was used
in Ancient Egypt and cotton was the ancient national textile of India, being
used by all the aboriginal peop0les of the New World as well.Ramie or China grass has been grown in the
Orient many thousands of years.

Plastic materials are often used instead of natural
products because they cost less and sometimes tend to be more durable.However, natural plant products continue
to have some superior attributes and are used when materials are readily
available.There are six principal
groups of fibers distinguished according to the way in which they are used.

Textile Fibersare the most
important in that they are used for fabrics, cordage and netting.To make fabrics and netting flexible
fibers are twisted together into thread or yarn and then either spun,
knitted, woven or in some other way utilized.Fabrics include cloth for wearing apparel, domestic use,
awnings, sails, etc., and also coarser materials such as gunny and burlap.Fabric fibers are all of some commercial
value.Netting fibers that are used
for hammocks, lace and all forms of nets include many of the commercial
fabric fibers and a number of native fibers as well.Both commercial and native fibers are used
for cordage.For this the individual
fibers are twisted together instead of being woven.Binder Twine, fish lines, hawsers, rope and cables are among
the many types.

Brush Fibersare stiff tough
fibers including small stems and twigs that are utilized for making brooms
and brushes.

Rough Weaving & Plaitling Fibers.Plaits are fibrous, flat and pliable
strands that are interlaced to make straw hats, baskets, sandals, chair
seats, etc.The most elastic strands
are woven together for mattings and the thatched roofs of houses.The supple twigs or woody fibers are for
making chairs, baskets and other wickerwork.

Filling Fibers are used for
stuffing mattresses, cushions and in upholstery; for caulking seams in boats
and in casks and barrels; as stiffening in plaster and as packing material.

Natural Fabrics are usually
obtained from tree basts that are extracted from bark in layers or sheets and
pounded into rough substitutes for lace or cloth.

A plant cannot be
restricted absolutely to any single group because the same fiber may be used
for different purposes.Also, a plant
may yield more than one kind of fiber.Thus the following discussion includes species that are considered in
the group in which they are of the greatest importance.

All fibers are
similar in that they are sclerenchyma cells that serve as part of the plant
skeleton.They are predominantly long
cells with thick walls and small cavities and usually pointed ends.The walls often contain lignin as well as
cellulose.Fibers occur singly or in
small groups, but they are more apt to form sheets of tissue with the
individual cells overlapping and interlocking.

Fibers may occur in almost any part of a plant:stems, leaves, fruits, seeds, etc.The four main types grouped according to their
origin include bast fibers, wood fibers, sclerenchyma
cells associated with the vascular bundle strands in leaves, and surface fibers that are hair
like outgrowths on the seeds of the plants.The term “bast fiber” is subject to criticism, as it gives no
indication as to the particular tissue or region in which the fibers occur.It might be preferable to designate those
fibers that occur in the outer parts of the stem as cortical fibers,
pericyclic fibers or phloem fibers.But “bast” is a term that has been in use for a long time and is so
established in commerce that it will be used in this discussion.

Fibers of economic importance occur in many different
plant families, especially those from the tropics.Some of the more important families are the Palmaceae, Gramineae,
Liliaceae, Musaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Malvaceae, Urticaceae, Linaceae,
Moraceae, Tiliaceae, Bromeliaceae, Bombacaceae, and Luguminosae.

These fibers must be
long and possess a high tensile strength and cohesiveness with
pliability.They must have a fine,
uniform, lustrous staple and must be durable and abundantly available.Only a small number of the different kinds
of fibers possess these traits and are thus of commercial importance.The principal textile fibers are grouped
into three classes:surface fibers,
soft fibers and hard fibers, with the last two often referred to as long
fibers.

Surface or short fibers include the so-called
cottons.The soft fibers are the bast
fibers that are found mainly in the pericycle or secondary phloem of
dicotyledon stems.Bast fibers are
capable of subdivision into very fine flexible strands and are used for the
best grades of cordage and fabrics.Included are hemp, jute, flax and ramie.

Hard or mixed fibers are structural elements found
mainly in the leaves of many tropical monocots, although they may be found in
fruits and stems.They are used for
the more coarse textiles.Sisal,
abacá, henequén, agaves, coconut and pineapple are examples of plants with hard
fibers.

Cotton is one of the greatest of all industrial
crops.it is the principal fiber
plant as well as one of the oldest and most economical.It was known since ancient times and well
before written records.There are
references to cotton by the ancient Greeks and Romans.Cotton was found in India before 1,800
B.C.The Hindus were believed to be
one of the first people to weave cloth in the Eastern Hemisphere, although
reference to Nordic traders of woven goods in North America during the Bronze
Age has been made by Fell 1982 (http://faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/bronze/fell2.htm).Cotton was introduced to Europe by the
Arabs who called the plant “qutn.”The plant had several origins because Columbus found it in cultivation
in the West Indies, and it was known to the Amerindians of Neotropical
America in Pre-Columbian times.Cotton became a commercial crop in the united States after 1787..

Several species of the genus Gossypium provide
what we call cotton.The fine fibrous
hairs that occur on the seeds constitute the raw material.These hairs are flattened, twisted and
tubular.They compose the lint, floss
or staple.Their length and other
qualities vary with the different varieties.The plant is a perennial shrub or small tree naturally, but under
cultivation it is treated as an annual.It branches freely and grows to a height of 4-8 ft. Cotton thrives in
sandy soil in humid regions that are near water.This environment is typified in the southern United States and
in the river valleys of India and Egypt.Cotton matures in 5-6 months and is ready to harvest soon after.

Hundreds of
varieties have been developed from wild ancestors or produced by breeding during
the long period of cultivation.Varieties differ in fiber character as well as other morphological
features.Cotton is a difficult group
to classify and the exact number of species is subject to argument.Cultivated cottons of commercial importance
are usually referred to one or another of four species:Gossypium barbadense and G.
hirsutum in the Western Hemisphere and G. arboreum and G. herbaceum
in the Eastern Hemisphere.

1.--Gossypium
barbadenseprobably
originated in tropical South America.The flowers are bright yellow with purple spots.The fruit, or boll, has three valves, and
the seeds are fuzzy only at the ends.Two distinct types exist:

Sea-Island Cotton.This type has never been found in the wild
as it was already being cultivated at the time of Columbus.It has fine, strong and light
cream-colored fibers that are regular in the number and uniformity of the
twists and they have a silky appearance.These characteristics are valuable and sea-island cotton was formerly
in great demand for the finest textiles, yarns, and lace and spool
cotton.Sea-island cotton was brought
to the United States from the West Indies in 1785.The finest types were developed on the islands off the South
Carolina coast and adjacent mainland.Here strong and firm stables of two inches or more in length were
produced.Another form of sea-island
cotton was grown along the coast in Georgia to Florida and in the West Indies
and South America.This has a staple
of 1.5-1.75 in. in length.The yield
of sea-island cotton was lower than other kinds of cotton, but this was
compensated for by the greater value of the fiber.The boll weevil almost completely eradicated production of
sea-island cotton before control measures were discovered.

Egyptian CottonThis cotton is grown in the Nile basin of
Egypt where it was introduced from Central America.The plant is similar in appearance to sea-island cotton and is
believed to be a hybrid.However, the
staple is brown in color and shorter.Its length, strength, and firmness make this cotton suitable for
thread, undergarments, hosiery, and fine dress goods.Egyptian cotton was brought to the United
States in 1902 as an experimental crop and 10 years later it was recommended
to farmers in the semiarid regions that were under irrigation.It was then grown in the western states of
California, New Mexico and Arizona.Repeated selection and breeding resulted in the development of new
strains of which Pima Cotton is of highest quality.

2.--Gossypium
hirsutumis a native
American species that was grown by Pre-Columbian civilizations.It is usually called Upland Cotton, and is the easiest and most
economical kind of cotton to grow.It
constitutes the greater part of the cultivated cotton of the world.The flowers are white or light yellow and
unspotted.The bolls are four- or
five-valved, and the seeds are covered with fuzz.Upland cotton thrives under a variety of conditions but does
best in a sandy soil with abundant moisture during the growing and fruiting
season and dryness during the time of boll opening and harvest as well as a
temperature of 60-90 deg. Fahrenheit.The northern limit of economic growth is 37 deg. N. Lat.The Cotton Belt of the southern United
States grows mostly upland cotton.The fibers are white with a wide range in staple length (5/8ths to
1.3/8ths in.).There are over 1210
named varieties, many of which were developed through breeding
experiments.The species probably
originated in Guatemala or southern Mexico and spread northward to its
present limits in North America.A
well-marked variety, often recognized as a distinct species, occurs in the
West Indies and along the dry coastal areas of South America as far as
Ecuador and Brazil.Another variety
occurs in Central America, northward along the Gulf of Mexico to Florida and
the Bahamas and in the Greater Antilles.

3.--Gossypium
arboreumis the
perennial tree cotton of Africa, India and Arabia.It was most likely the first to be used commercially, but
production is now confined to India.The staples are coarse and very short (3/8ths to 34 in. long), but
they are strong.

4.--Gossypium
herbaceumis the principal cotton of Asia.It was grown in Indian in ancient times
and continues to be used locally there and in Iran, China and Japan.Its chief use is for fabrics, carpets and
blankets and is often blended with wool.

There are additionally several wild species of Gossypium
in some tropical and subtropical areas.

Cotton used to be an expensive material because it was
difficult to remove the fibers from the seed.The cotton gin developed by Eli Whitney in 1793 changed this
situation and a revolution of the industry was started.Cotton then assumed a very prominent
position in world commerce.The
economics of cotton has had a profound effect on both the producing and
purchasing nations.It is well
accepted that slavery was perpetuated in America because of this crop.

There are several steps
necessary in the preparation of raw cotton fiber in order to prepare it for
the textile industry.These
operations involve ginning in either a saw-tooth or a roller gin, baling,
transporting to the mills, picking to remove any foreign matter and delivers
the cotton in a uniform layer, lapping where three layers are combined into
one, carding, combing and drawing where the short fibers are extracted and
the others straightened and evenly distributed, and finally twisting the fibers
into thread.

Cotton is used either by itself or in combination with
other fibers in the manufacture of all types of textiles.Unspun cotton is extensively used for
stuffing purposes.Treating the
fibers with caustic soda, which imparts a high luster and silky appearance,
makes Mercerized Cotton.Absorbent Cotton consists
of fibers that have been cleaned and from which the oily covering layer has
been removed.It is almost pure
cellulose and makes up one of the basic raw materials of various cellulose
industries.

A noteworthy advance in the cotton industry was the
utilization of what were formerly waste products.In the early stages of the industry the cotton seed along with its
fuzzy covering of short hairs or linters was discarded.However, all parts of the plant are now
conserved to yield products that are valuable.The stalks contain a fiber that can be used to make paper or
fuel and the roots possess a crude drug.The seeds are used for oil extraction and for livestock feed.The linters give wadding, stuffing for
pads, cushions, pillows, mattress, etc; absorbent cotton; low grade yarn for
twine, ropes and carpets; and cellulose.The hulls are also livestock feed; fertilizer; lining oil wells to
prevent cave-ins of the sides; as a source of Xylose, a
sugar that can be converted into alcohol or various explosives and industrial
solvents.The kernels yield an
important fatty oil, cottonseed oil; and oil cake and meal are used for
fertilizer, livestock feed, and flour and as a dye.

Once the most
valuable and useful of fibers, flax gradually became less important as
synthetics and cotton assumed more prominent roles.Flax is more durable than cotton and can yield a very fine
fabric.The plant has been under
cultivation for so long that its point of origin is unknown.It was used by the Swiss Lake Dwellers and
was known to the ancient Hebrews and is frequently noted in the Bible.The ancient Egyptians wore linen and used
it for the burial cloths.They carved
pictures of the flax plant on their tombs.Long before the Christian era the Greek imported flax, and it is
believed that the plant was being cultivated prior to 3,000 B.C.

Flax is in the genus Linum that contains several
wild species of no economic importance as well as Linum usitatissimum,
the source of the commercial fiber.The plant is an annual herb with blue or white flowers and small
leaves.It grows to a height of from
1-4 ft.The fibers are formed in the
pericycle and are made up of very tough, stringy strands from 1-3 ft. long
that are aggregates of many long pointed cells with very thick cellulose
walls.Flax does best in soil that is
rich in organic matter and moisture and in temperate regions, but it may be
grown elsewhere.Preparation of the
fibers is a more expensive procedure than for cotton.The crop is harvested and a process known
as rippling breaks the stems.The
fibers may then be rotted out by submerging the stems in water or by exposing
them to dew.During this process
called retting and enzyme dissolves the calcium pectate of the middle
lamella, which holds the cells together, and frees the fibers.After retting the straw is dried and cleaned
and the fibers are completely separated from the other tissues of the stem by
an operation known as scutching.Finally the shorter fibers that constitute the tow are separated from
the longer fibers. The long fibers are the only ones suited for spinning.

The fibers of flax
have great tensile strength, staple length, durability and fineness.They are used in the manufacture of linen
cloth and thread, canvas, duck, strong twine, carpets, fish and seine lines,
cigarette paper, writing paper and insulating materials.Fibers from the stalks of flax grown for
seed are too harsh and brittle for spinning but may be used for other
purposes.

The principal
production area was Northern Europe, with Russia producing around 70 percent
of the world crop.Some of the finest
flax is grown in Belgium.The
Pilgrims introduced flax into North America and these and other colonists
were growing sufficient amount for domestic use until 1900.Flax is a good crop with which to reclaim
native soil and for a long time its cultivation was confined to the
frontier.Flax is grown for its seed
in areas with low rainfall.The seed
is used in medicine and as a source of linseed oil.

The term “hemp” is applied loosely to include a number
of very different plants and fibers.The true hemp is Cannabissativa, a plant native to
Central and Western Asia but has spread worldwide where it often occurs as a
troublesome weed.

The plant is a stout, bushy, branching annual that varies
from 5-15 ft in height.It is
dioecious with hollow stems and palmate leaves.The best grade of fiber is obtained from male plants.Hemp requires a mild humid climate and a
rich loamy soil with an abundance of humus.Calcareous soils are especially suitable.

The fiber is white bast that develops in the
pericycle.It is valuable because of
its length that varies from 3-15 ft, its strength and great durability.However, it lacks the flexibility and
elasticity of flax because of its lignification.Yields are usually high with one acre producing 2-3 tons of
stems, 25 percent of which is fibrous material.The plants are harvested and shocked and dried.The fibers are separated from the rest of
the bark by retting, either in dew or in water.They are then broken, scutched and hackled.Hemp must be harvested when the male
flowers are in full bloom or the fibers are too week or too brittle to be of
value.

Hemp is an ancient crop that had been grown in China
before 2,000 B.C.It was introduced
into Europe around 1,500 B.C.It
reached North America in early colonial days and became a viable industry in
Kentucky and Wisconsin.By the 21st
Century very little of the crop was being grown in North America.

Hemp has been used to make ropes, carpets, twine, and
sailcloth, yacht cordage, binder twine, sacks, bags and webbing.The waste and woody fibers of the stem
were sometimes used to make paper.The finer grades can be woven into a cloth that resembles coarse
linen.The short fibers or tow and
ravelings constitute Oakum.This is used for caulking the seams between the plants in
shipbuilding, in cooperage and as packing for pumps, engines, etc.In the tropics hemp is grown for its seed,
and also for a drug that is gotten from the flowering tops and leaves.The seeds contain oil that is useful in
the soap and paint industries as a substitute for linseed oil.The drug, known as Hashish,
is a resinous substance that contains several powerful alkaloids.In America this type of hemp is known as
Marijuana.Ganja is a specially
cultivated and harvested grade of hemp used for smoking and in beverages and
candies.It has high resin content.

Jute has been used almost extensively as cotton even though
it is much less valuable than either cotton of flax.It is a bast fiber obtained from the
secondary phloem of two species of Corchorus of Asia.The best quality is from C. capsularis,
a species with round pods that is grown in lowland areas subject to
flooding.The plant is a tall,
slender, somewhat shrubby annual with yellow flowers that grows to a height
of 8-10 ft.It requires a warm
climate and a rich, loamy alluvial soil.Fiber from C. olitorius, and upland species with long pods, is
somewhat inferior but the two are not separated in commerce.

Harvest occurs within 3-4 months after planting and
while the flowers are still in full bloom.The stems are retted in pools or tanks for several days to rot out the
softer gummy tissues, and whipping the stems on the surface of the water then
loosens the jute, or Gunny, strands.The pale-yellow fibers are very long, from 6-10 ft. in length, and
they are very stiff being highly lignified.They have a silky luster.They
are produced in abundance, but are not especially strong and they tend to
deteriorate when exposed to moisture.Despite these disadvantages they are economical and easily spun.Plastics have replaced many of the
products formerly made from jute, however.

Jute has been used mainly for rough weaving into burlap
bags, gunnysacks and covers for cotton bales.The fiber is also used for twine, carpets, curtains and coarse
cloth.Short fibers and pieces from
the lower ends of the stalks make up jute butts that have been used in paper
manufacture.India has the largest
acreage of jute.

Baehmeria nivea is a perennial, herbaceous or
shrubby plant without branches when cultivated.It has slender stalks that reach a height of 3-6 ft. and they
bear heart-shaped leaves that are green above and white beneath.The plant is from Asia and was grown in
China in ancient times.It requires a
fertile, well-drained soil.Several
crops per year compensate for a rather low yield, especially in North
America.

Fine fibers are obtained
from the bast, which are very long, strong and durable.They also have a high degree of luster and
would be desirable for textile purposes were it not for difficulties in the
extraction and cleaning process.The
stems are first immersed in water.The bark is then peeled off and the outer portions and green tissue
are scraped off or are removed by oiling or mechanical means.The fibers that remain are heavily coated
with gum and require further treatment before they can be used.They make up the China
Grass, or Filasse, that is used in the manufacture of
grass cloth and other dress goods in Asia.Ramie has been used in Europe for under garments, upholstery, thread
and paper.Although it is one of the
strongest fibers known, being three times as strong as hemp, ramie has not
been generally used because the treatment necessary to remove the fibers is
very costly.The development of a
simpler process has not increased the use of ramie.

Another variety, Boehmeria nivea var. tenacissima,
is sometimes called Rhea.This plant is native to Malaya and resembles ramie except that the
leaves are green on both sides.Rhea
fiber is included under ramie in industry.

Crotalaria juncea is an important fiber plant in
Asia.It has been cultivated since
ancient times and there are no known wild ancestors.It is the earliest fiber to be mentioned
in Sanskrit writings (Hill 1952).It
is a shrubby annual legume from 6-12 ft tall with bright yellow flowers.It is grown primarily in southern
India.

Almost all the
members of the Malvaceae yield bast fibers that can be used in textiles.Some of the most important are as follows:

China Jute or Indian Mallow (Abutilon theophrasti) is an annual
plant that yields a strong, coarse, grayish-white lustrous fiber with
characteristics similar to jute.It
has been extensively grown in China and was introduced into North America
where it can thrive.The fibers have
great tensile strength, take dyes readily and are used in China for making
rugs and paper.

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus)is a tall herb
that yields a fiber with has over 129 names, among them Deccan, Ambari or
Gambo Hemp, Java Jute and Mesta Fiber.It is a substitute for hemp and jute in the manufacture of coarse
canvas, gunnysacks, cordage, matting and fishing nets.The plant is adapted to a wide range of
climates and soils.Harvest is right
after the flowers come into bloom.The fibers are 5-10 ft. long and are usually extracted by
retting.Kenaf seed yields up to 20
percent of edible oil on being refined.

Roselle or Rama (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is cultivated
in India, Southeastern Asia and some Pacific islands as a substitute for jute
and for its edible fruit.The
light-brown fibers are silky, soft and lustrous.Roselle is adapted to well-drained fertile soil where there is
a 20-in. rainfall.It grows fast and
can be harvested 90 days after planting.Retting is accomplished in 10-12 days, and the fibers are easily
slipped from the bark.The red fleshy
calices and involucels surrounding the young fruits are acid and provide a
sour relish.The juice is used for
flavoring and in making jellies, jams and wine.

Aramina or Cadillo (Urena lobata) occurs as a
weed in most tropical countries.It
provides a yellowish-white fiber that is more durable than jute and is used
as a substitute in some industries.It has been grown commercially in Cuba, Madagascar, Nigeria, the Congo
and Brazil where it is made into coffee sacks.

Other malvaceous species that yield fibers but which
are of minor importance include Okra, Hibiscus esculentus, Majagua, Hibiscus tiliaceus, and several species of
the genus Sida.Sida acuta is
an extremely easy plant to harvest and prepare and the fibers are twice as
strong as jute.

The Amerindians used the bast fibers of different plant
for their bowstrings, nets, etc.Colorado River Hemp, Sesbaniaexaltata,
was widely used by the western groups, while Indian Hemp,
Apocynum cannabinum, and Milkweed, Asclepiassyriaca, yielded important fibers for eastern groups of Amerindians.

This is a premier cordage material that is obtained
from several species of wild plantain or banana.Musa textilis is the principal source.It resembles the true banana but has
narrow more tufted leaves and inedible fruits.The plant forms a clump of 12-30 sheathing leafstalks 10-20 ft.
high with a crown of spreading leaf blades 3-6 ft long.The fiber is secured from the outer
portion of the leafstalks.Mature
stalks are cut at the roots and split open lengthwise.The pulp and the fiber strands are
removed, and the strands are washed and dried.

Individual fibers are 6-12 ft. long, lustrous and
variable in color from white to light ocher.They are light, elastic, stiff and very strong, durable and resistant
to both fresh and salt water.Therefore, the main use of abacá has been in the manufacture of
high-grade cordage, especially marine cables.Plastic cables are frequently substituted but they are not as
easy to manage on ships as true abacá.Other products made from this kind of hemp are binder twine, bagging,
strong tissue paper, papier-mâché, wrapping paper and Manila paper for
sacks.In Japan Manila hemp was used
in making movable partitions in houses.The individual fibers cannot be spun, but strands of fibers are used
to make the lustrous cloth known as Sinamay.

Musa textilis has been of commercial importance
only in the Philippines although it grows in other Asian countries as
well.The plant was known and used by
the inhabitants of the region centuries before the arrival of the first European
explorers early in the 16th Century.The first shipment was made to North America in 1818.From then until 1918 it was the main
export of the Philippines, amounting to over 300-thousand pounds annually
(Hill 1952).More recently sugar and
sometimes copra have exceeded it in production.

Manila help requires a warm climate, fertile soil,
shade, good drainage, abundant moisture and an elevation lower than 3,000
ft.Suckers and rootstalks propagate
it.The crop is grown in small fields
or on large plantations and matures in 18-36 months.

After several failures, abacá was successfully
introduced into the Western Hemisphere in 1925 in Panama, but did not develop
into a commercial item.However, with
World War II the serious shortages of Manila hemp became a serious threat to
the war effort and the United States government financed a project in several
Central American countries.Machines
for cleaning the leaves were devised and installed, and soon some 26,000
acres were being cultivated that produced 3-million pounds of fiber.At the end of the war the industry was
soundly established in Costa Rica.

By the middle of the
20th Century agave fibers were next to cotton in importance in America.By 1952 their value sometimes amounted to over
36 million dollars per year. But due to labor costs and the availability of
synthetic alternatives their production declined thereafter.These plants are stemless perennials with
basal rosettes of erect fleshy leaves.The leaves contain fibers that are removed either by hand or
machine.There are numerous species
of local occurrence.They are very
drought tolerant and flourish in dry sterile soils.Several kinds of commercial importance are discussed as
follows:

Amerindian groups have used this native Mexican species
since ancient times.By the mid 20th
Century Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula produced most of the crop.The leaves bear spines that make them
difficult to handle.The light straw
colored fiber is scraped out from the leaf tissue.It is hard, elastic and wiry, measuring 2-5 ft. in length.It was used mainly for binder twine,
lariats and durable mats.It is not
suited for marine or hoisting cables, as it is heavy and weak.Tablemats constructed from this fiber have
a beautiful luster and are resistant to stains.Agave letonae from El Salvador is a related
species.Production declined
dramatically by the 21st Century.

This is very similar
in appearance to henequén but the leaves bear few spines.Native to Mexico and Central America it
was cultivated in Hawaii, the East and West Indies and in several parts of
Africa.The plant is very drought
resistant and will grow where other species fail.Little cultivation is required.The coarse, stiff, light yellow to white fibers are removed,
cleaned, dried and packed in bales for shipment.Synthetic fibers also largely replaced sisal by the 21st
Century.

In ancient times there were several fibers used in
Mexico under the names of Istle, Ixtle or Tampico Fiber.Three species of most importance are Jaumaveistle, Agave funkiana, Tula
Istle, A. lecheguilla, and Palma Istle, Samuela
carnerosana.Several species of Yucca
were also grouped under the category of Istle.The fibers are obtained from immature leaves of wild
plants.Although these fibers are
shorter than those of sisal and henequén, they are very strong and
durable.They were formerly used for
brushes and as a cheap substitute for sisal and abacá to make bagging, twine
and rope.

Manila Maguey or Cantala, Agave cantala, is a species from Mexico that
was introduced into India and Southeastern Asia.It was grown commercially in the Philippines, Java and
elsewhere as a substitute for sisal.Mexican Maguey is obtained from different species of Agave
and the fibers are valued only locally by the inhabitants of the region in
which it grows.It was nevertheless a
highly valued plant by Amerindians who used it to make the fermented
beverages of Pulque and Mescal.

Leaves of the green aloe, Furcraea gigantea, are
the source of Mauritius hemp.The
plant is native to tropical America but is grown worldwide, where local
inhabitants use its fiber.It has
been grown commercially in Mauritius, Madagascar, St. Helena and South
Africa, India, Venezuela and Brazil, where it is know as Piteira.The plant resembles an agave but has
larger, less rigid leaves and a very long peduncle or flower stalk that can
reach of height of 20-40 ft.The
fibers are very long, 4-7 ft., and they are white, soft, very flexible and
elastic.They are not as strong as sisal
and are used either alone or in a mixture for making bags, hammocks, coarse
twine and other cordage.

Several other species of Furcraea yield fibers
of local importance in tropical America.Included are Fique, Furcraeamacrophylla,
of Colombia; Cabuya, F. cabuya, of Central America;
and Pitre, F. hexapetala, of the West Indies and
sometimes called Cuban Hemp.

Also called New Zealand Flax,
Phormium tenax is from the leaves of an iris like plant.It is native to wet areas of New Zealand
but has been transported throughout the tropics and temperate regions of the
world.In North America it serves as
an ornamental.The fibers are very
long, 3-7 ft. in length, and have a high luster.They are softer and more flexible than abacá and are used
mainly for towlines, twine and other forms of cordage and mattings, and
sometimes for cloth.

Many species of the genus Sansevieria occur as
wild plants in parts of tropical Asia and Africa.These bowstring hemps are herbaceous perennials with basal rosettes
of sword like leaves that arise from a creeping rootstalk.The leaves contain a strong white elastic
fiber that has been used since ancient times for mats, hammocks, bowstrings
and other types of cordage.Wild
plants are generally utilized but some species have been cultivated.The fibers are removed by hand or
mechanically.Important species
include Sansevieria thyrsiflora of tropical Africa, S. roxburghiana
of India and S. zeylanica of Sri Lanka.Several species were introduced into North
America among which is the Florida Bowstring Hemp, S. longifolia.

This is a term applied to the short, coarse and rough
fibers that make up a large part of the husk of coconut fruits, Cocos
nucifera. It is the only prominent fiber that is obtained from
fruits.Unripe coconuts are soaked in
salt water for several months to loosen the fibers.They are then beaten to separate the fibers that are then
washed and dried.The product has
varied uses.In tropical Asia and
Pacific Islands it is the source of Sennit Braid that
is used for cables, small cordage and hawsers.Coconut fibers are superior to all others for this purpose
because they re very light and elastic and resistant to water.Coir has also been used for brush
bristles, doormats, sacks, floor coverings, some textiles, upholstery, and
stuffing for the bearings of railroad cars and as a substitute for
oakum.Sri Lanka has been the center
for commercial production.In Puerto
Rico coir was used in horticulture as a substitute for peat.

Pineapple, Ananas comosus, is the source of
fibers of great strength and fine qualities.They are shiny white, very durable and flexible and are not harmed by
water.When grown for the fiber
pineapples are planted closer together and develop longer leaves.The best fibers are gathered from leaves
that have not attained their maximum length.Two-year old leaves are usually harvested and the fibers scraped out
by hand, which is an expensive process.After drying and combing, the fibers are tied end to end and can be
woven.In the Philippines Piña Cloth is one of the most delicate and expensive of
fabrics made from these fibers.

Aechmea magdalenae is a plant that resembles
pineapple.It is native to the dry alluvial
soils from southern Mexico to Ecuador.The long leaves have a fiber of high quality known as Pita Floja or
Pita.These fibers are the basis of
one of the most ancient and most important native industries in Oaxaca and
have also been used in Central America and Colombia.The fibers are 5-8 ft. long, white or
light cream colored, lustrous, finer and more flexible than other hard fibers
and with a high tensile strength.They are very resistant to salt water so they are used to make fish
lines and nets.They are also used
for sewing leather.

This fiber is a substitute for jute.It is from Neoglaziovia variegata a
bromeliad of the dry, hot arid areas of northeastern Brazil.The leaves yield a soft, flexible, white
elastic fiber three times as strong as jute.Caroá is used for rugs, sacks, textiles, cordage, twine and paper.

Brushes, brooms and
whisks are made from various vegetable fibers.These fibers need to be strong, stiff and elastic with a high flexibility.Sometimes whole twigs, fine stems or roots
are used, or the fibers are secured from leafstalks.Several important brush fibers are as
follows:

A few species of palms that grow in tropical America and
Africa are the source of brush fibers called commercially Piassava, Piassaba
or Bass Fiber.These trees have leaf stalks or leaf sheaths that yield the stiff,
coarse, brown or black fibers in making brushes for sweeping large areas such
as sidewalks and streets

West African Piassavais obtained
from a wine palm, Raphia vinifera that grows in profusion in the tidal
bayous and creeks of Liberia and other parts of West Africa.The leafstalks are retted and the bundles
beaten.The long fibers are used to
make mats and brushes.A wine is
fermented from the palm tree sap.

Brazilian Piassavais from two
species of palm found in profusion in the lowlands of the Amazon and Orinoco
regions.Attalea funifera is
the source of Bahia Piassava.The fibers are wiry, stiff and brown and almost like bristles.They are removed from the swollen bases of
the leafstalks with an ax.They have
been used primarily for street-cleaning machine brushes because the fibers are
very durable and retain their resiliency even when wet.Para Piassava fibers are
formed on the margins of the leaf petioles of Leopoldinia piassaba.They are used not only for brushes and
brooms but also for hats, baskets and ropes.

Some other coarse fibers such as Palmyra and Kittul
Fiber are classed as piassava in commerce.Palmyra Fiber is from the Palmyra palm, Borassus
flabellifer, of the East Indies.This palm is one of the most useful as all parts of the plant are used
for some purpose.The fibers are made
into twine, paper, rope and machine brushes.Kittul Fiber is finer, softer and more
pliable. It is obtained from the leaf sheaths of the toddy palm, Caryota
urens, of Sri Lanka and the East Indies.The black bristles are made into strong ropes or into soft
brushes.They also are substitutes
for horsehair and oakum.

Cabbage palm, Sabal palmetto, of coastal
southeastern North America yields a valuable fiber called Palmetto Fiber.The highest-grade fiber is obtained from young leaf stalks that are
still in the bud.Coarser fibers come
from mature leaves or the bases of old leaf stalks surrounding the bud.There was one an industry in Florida that
processed this fiber for use as a substitute for palmyra in brushes.Palmetto fibers are reddish tan in color
and 8-20 in. long.The bud of the
palm is edible and the roots contain tannin.

The sorghum, Sorghum vulgare var. technicum,
differs from other sorghums by having a panicle with long straight branches.This inflorescence or seed head is the
“brush” that is made into brooms.A
dwarf variety exists that furnishes fiber for whiskbrooms, while the normal
sized variety is used for carpet brooms.Harvest is before the end of flowering season by cutting the stems a
few inches below the head.The heads
are sorted, threshed and dried.Another species, Spartina spartinae, is a
native grass of the southern Coastal Plain from Florida to Mexico that has
been used in combination with the sorghum.Brooms often consist of as much as 50 percent Spartina
surrounded by broomcorn.

Broomroot or Zacaton, Muhlenbergia
macroura, is used to manufacture cheaper brushes.The plant is a grass found from Texas to
Central America, especially in the mountainous regions of Mexico.It is a perennial with tufted wiry culms
and coarse roots.The roots are the
plant part utilized.They are
harvested year-round, washed, cleaned and dried.They are then cut from the tops, graded according to quality,
length and color and baled for export.

There are relatively
few materials that are manufactured for plaited or coarsely woven
articles.The raw materials include
the rushes, stems of reeds, willows, bamboo, grasses, rattan and leaves and
roots.They are used entirely or
split.They are woven or twisted
together in a simple manner and made into sandals, mats, hats, matting,
screens, chair seats, baskets, etc.

In many parts of the Eastern Hemisphere, rice, barley,
wheat and rye are grown for the purpose of making braids or straw plaits for
hats.The plants are grown close
together so that they will have few leaves, and they are harvested before
they mature.The stems are split
lengthwise before plaiting.The Leghorn Hats and Tuscan Hats of
Italy are some of the best of the straw hats.

Panama Hats are made from the
leaves of Toquilla, Carludovica palmata, a stem less,
palm like plant that grows wild in the forests from southern Mexico to
Peru.It has been cultivated in
Ecuador and parts of Colombia.The
Panama hat industry is concentrated in Ecuador.Young leaves are collected while they are still folded in the
bud and treated with hot water.The
coarse veins are removed and the plaits are separated and split lengthwise
into slender strips that are slowly dried and bleached.They gradually roll inward forming fine
cylindrical strands known as Jipijapa.The hats are woven by hand from these
strands.About six leaves are
necessary to make one hat.The best
quality Panama hats are uniform and have a fine texture, are strong, durable
and elastic and resistant to water.The Puerto Rican Hats are made from the leaves
of the hat palm, Sabal causiarum.

In the Eastern Hemisphere commercial mattings have been
made from several rushes, grasses and sedges.Usually the stalks or leaves are used alone, but they may be combined
with cotton of hemp.Some of the
species utilized are Chinese Mat Grass, Cyperus
tegetiformis, and Japanese Mat Rush, Juncus
effusus.

The Screw Pines, Pandanus
tectorius and P. utilis are important in Southeastern Asia and
Oceania for making mats.The leaves
of these species are also used for sugar bags, cordage, hats and thatching.

Baskets have been and are continuously being made from
an array of plant species worldwide.Roots, stems, leaves and even woody splints have been used.Commercial baskets are usually made from
rushes, cereal straw, osiers or willows, and ash or white oak splints.Sweet grass baskets are made from Hierochloe
odorata, a common species in lowlands along the coast and Great
Lakes.Another important source of
basket fiber is the raffia palm, Raffia pedunculata, native to
Madagascar.Strips of the lower
epidermis of the leaves are the raffia of commerce.The fiber is so soft and silk like that it can be woven.It is especially useful as a tie material
for nurseries and gardens.

This includes chair
seats, chairs, infant carriages, hampers and other light articles of
furniture.Willows, rattan and bamboo
are the main plants used.

Rattanis obtained from several species of
climbing palms, Calamus spp., that grow in the humid forests of the East
Indies and other parts of tropical Asia.The stems of these plants are long, strong, flexible and uniform.They are used either entirely or as splits
in Asia for furniture, canes, baskets and other items.A considerable quantity of rattan is
exported for making furniture.

Bamboos occur in most
tropical areas, but they are especially abundant in the monsoon regions of
Eastern Asia.They are the largest of
the grasses with woody stems that sometimes reach one foot in diameter and a
height of over 10 feet.There are
many species in the families Arundinaria, Bambusa, Dendrocalamus,
Gigantochloa, Phyllostachys, and other genera.The stems are used for all kinds of
construction in areas where these plants grow.Exported bamboo is used in the manufacture of furniture,
fishing rods and implements of various kinds.Bamboo splits are made into baskets and brushes.

In the Western Hemisphere bamboos have not been
extensively utilized.Guadua
angustifolia is a species with very strong culms and has been used in
Ecuador to make furniture and in house construction.

Many plant fibers
have been used to stuff pillows, cushions, furniture, mattresses, etc.They are also used to caulk the seams of
vessels, in the making of staff for buildings, as stiffening for plaster,
packing for bulkheads and machine bearings, and for the protection of
delicate objects during shipment.Synthetic materials frequently take the place of these long used
products, but in some ways they retain some superiority.Surface fibers are commonly used for
stuffing because their staples are too short to be spun and thus are not
valued in the textile industry.Bast
fibers are too costly, and hard fibers are frequently too stiff and
coarse.The silk cottons are the most
important source for stuffing.

This is the most popular silk cotton and most valuable
of all the stuffing substances.Kapok
is the floss produced in the pods of the kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra.Originally confined to the American
tropics, it is now found worldwide.It is an irregular tree, 50-100 ft. tall, with a buttressed base and
weird growth habit.It grows rapidly
and begins to bare when only 15 ft. tall.A mature tree can produce more than 600 pods and from 6-10 lbs. of the
cottony fibers.Pods are clipped from
the branches and opened.The floss is
removed and the seeds separated by centrifugal force.The floss is 1/2-1 1/2 in. long and
whitish, yellowish or brownish in color.It is very fluffy, light and elastic and is thus an ideal stuffing
material for mattresses and pillows.The fibers have a low specific gravity.They are five times more buoyant than cork and are impervious
to water.Therefore, kapok is
valuable as a filling for life preservers, cushions, portable pontoons,
etc.Its low thermal conductivity and
its high ability to absorb sound make kapok an excellent material for
insulating small refrigerators and for soundproofing rooms.It has also been used for the linings of
sleeping bags, gloves for handling dry ice and in the tropics as surgical
dressings.Kapok seeds have 45
percent fatty oil that is extracted and used for soap and food.

There are a number of other plants with seed hairs or
floss that can be used as a substitute for kapok.The Red Silk Cotton Tree orSimal, Salmalia
malabarica, is a very large ornamental tree.It supplies reddish floss known as Indian Kapok
that has been important as a stuffing in India for centuries.The White Silk
Cotton Tree, Cochlospermum religiosum, yields a fiber of some
importance.This handsome tree is
native to India but is now widespread in the world tropics.It is also one source of Kadaya Gum.

Madar, Calotropis gigantea,
and the related Akund, Calotropis procera, are
shrubs native to Southern Asia and Africa that produce a silk of some
importance.Although inferior to
kapok, this substance is often used in mixtures with kapok.

The Pochotes of Mexico, Ceiba
aesculifolia, C. acuminata, etc., yield a silk cotton almost equal
to kapok in buoyancy and resiliency.Palo Borracho, Chorisia insignis, and Samohu, Chorisia speciosa, of South America yield
large amounts of a glossy, white silk cotton with properties similar to
kapok.

All of the milkweeds have silky hairs on their seeds
and several species are a source of stuffing materials.Milkweed floss is one of the lightest
materials.it is very buoyant and a
perfect insulator.It was used during
World War II as a substitute for kapok.The pods contain oil and a wax that may have future applications.Some species yield textile fibers.In North America, Asclepias syriaca
and A. incarnata produce abundant floss.In the Neotropics, A. curassavica has some value.

There are
innumerable plants and fibers that have use as filling materials.Included are cereal straw, cornhusks,
Spanish Moss and Crin Végétal.

Spanish Moss, Tillandsia
usneoides,is a conspicuous tree epiphyte in
Southeastern North America.This is
an excellent substitute for horsehair after it is processed.The plant is pulled from the trees with
rakes or hooks, or it is collected from the ground or water.It is then fermented in order to rot off
the gray outer covering and ginned to remove impurities.The prepared fiber is brown or black,
lustrous and very resilient.It has
been used in upholstery and for automobile cushions.

Crin Végétal. Chamaerop
humilis a dwarf fan palm of Northern Africa and the Mediterranean
region in which the leaves have shredded and twisted fibers.These have been used as stuffing material.

Some trees have basts with tough interlacing fibers
that can be extracted from the bark in layers or sheets and can then be
pounded into rough substitutes for cloth.Tapa Cloth is one of these as it once
constituted the main clothing in Polynesia and parts of Eastern Asia.The material is obtained from the bark of
the paper mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera.Strips of bark are peeled from the trunk and the outer coating
is scraped away.After soaking in
water and cleaning these strips are placed on a hardwood log and pounded with
a mallet.Overlapping the edges and
beating them together unite the individual strips.The finished product varies according to thickness from muslin
like material to one of leather.Tapa
cloth is frequently dyed.

Similar bark cloths have been manufactured from
different sources since antiquity.In
South America the Amerindians used the Tauary, Couratari
tauari, and other species of the same genus.In Mozambique the wild fig, Ficus nekbudu, was used as a
source of Mutshu Cloth.The Upas Tree, Antiaris toxicaria,
of Sri Lanka furnishes a bark cloth.it is also the source of an important poison used with arrows.

Lace Bark is the produce of
Lagetta lintearia, a small tree of Jamaica.The inner bark is removed in sheets and can be stretched into a
lacelike material with pentagonal meshes.It is suitable as a textile and ornament.

Cuba Bast is from Hibiscus
elatus, a small bushy tree of the West Indies.The inner bark is removed in long ribbon-like strips that have
been used in millinery and for tying cigars.

The vegetable sponges, Luffa cylindrica and L.
acutangula, yield a unique fiber.These are climbing cucumbers of the tropics that bear edible fruits
containing a lacy network of stiff curled fibers.This material is extracted by retting in water.After cleaning it is used for making hats,
for washing and scouring machinery, in certain types of oil filters and as a
substitute for bath sponges.A large
amount of this material used to be exported by Japan.

The artificial
fibers in use in the textile industry are mostly organic in nature, with
synthetic glass fibers being the exception.The organic materials utilized are cellulose, plant and animal
proteins, and synthetic resins, such as nylon that is made from soft coal,
water and air.The cellulose fibers
are discussed under Forest Products, while the
protein fibers of only minor importance.Although they have many of the general properties of wool, their low
strength when wet is a serious detriment.Soybeans, corn and peanuts are the main plant sources of protein
fibers.